Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Gadgets
DIY Scrolling LED Business Cards Miss Point of Business Cards, Still Cool
11:45PM Kit Eaton | Over at Instructables is this DIY project that will let you make your own slender electronic business cards with built-in LED display. They’re pretty cool, displaying a number of different scrolling data messages at the push of a button, and apparently cost just about US$5 per card. The “slender” description means you’ll have to be good at soldering surface-mount components, though. To me it’s a cool project that will impress people, but kinda misses the point of business cards: easily disseminating your contact info. An LCD QR-code business card— now that’s something I’d fancy. Head over to Instructables if you’ve got the LED maker-urge. [Instructables] More »
Phones
Apple and AT&T Sued for Selling Too Many iPhone 3Gs
11:30PM Mark Wilson | Apple/AT&T customer William Gillis was unhappy with the performance of his iPhone 3G. So he filed a lawsuit. But what’s unique in this case is that the lawsuit isn’t complaining just that the iPhone 3G is underperforming, but that the iPhone 3G is underperforming because it’s been consciously oversold in a plot by AT&T and Apple. More »
Cameras
Spectacular Night Photography of London Causes Awe, Vertigo
11:00PM Jesus Diaz | digg_skin = 'compact'; digg_bgcolor = '#f1f8fa'; digg_url = 'http://digg.com/arts_culture/Spectacular_Night_Photography_of_London_Causes_Awe_Vertigo/'; Jason Hawkes has a very difficult, expensive, and spectacular kind of work: he takes pictures from the sky. And while it may not sound very difficult, obtaining these crystal-clear shots while hanging out of the door of a twin-engine helicopter, everything vibrating like in an earthquake because of the rotor blades, and shouting orders at your pilot over, it’s a very challenging job that requires the best technology you can get your hands on. We talked with Jason about how is it done in this new Gizmodo section that we like to call “How Is It Done.” More »
Networks
AT&T Data Network Knocked Out in Northeast
10:59PM Matt Buchanan | If you’re in the northeastern US and having troubles hitting up the internets or email from your phone, don’t chuck it at the wall—a whole bunch of users are reporting that AT&T’s data network is down and out this morning, which has been confirmed to many by AT&T tech support. If you’re having problems (or if it’s actually fixed), let us know. Update: Down in NY for us, as well as some readers. Also out: Boston, Philly, Washington, D.C., Chicago, St. Louis. Another said AT&T told him the outage was nationwide. If you call up AT&T and complain (here’s some numbers to get started), you might be able to snag a sweet account credit of US$10-US$20, as some commenters have. YMMV. Update 2: Official word from AT&T is in. More »
Robots
The Styrobot Wants to Rule Your Cups and Packaging
10:45PM Mark Wilson | There’s really nothing great that can be done with Styrofoam other than not produce it in the first place, but in lieu of recycling it or throwing it away, one man and his son, inspired by this artwork, took 5 years worth of Styrofoam packaging and did the next most logical thing—built a giant robot. More »
Toys
Dr. Who Sonic and Laser Screwdrivers Are Really Vibrators In Disguise
10:30PM Jesus Diaz | I mean, come on. Look at these two. Dr. Who Sonic vs Laser Screwdrivers? Dr. Who? When was the last time you travelled back in time? Hello? How hard is to actually go to an online sex-shop and anonymously order the real thing? They come in the same brown cardboard UPS package, do we really have to pretend this is a collector’s item? Look at them again, up close, read the specs, and then you tell me: More »
Vehicles
Sikorsky X2 Helicopter Tested, Even Cooler than Expected
10:15PM Jesus Diaz | Sikorsky, makers of the Blackhawk and other sleek helicopters, have successfully tested their X2 Technology Demonstrator, a prototype designed to showcase new propulsion systems that will allow their helicopters to fly at twice the speed of conventional ones. And it looks sci-fi pretty too, even more so from the front: More »
GPS
2200T Is First Entry-Level GPS with Lifetime Free Traffic Info, Says Navigon
10:00PM Kit Eaton | Navigon recently popped up with a high-end GPS with free-for-life live traffic info, followed by some similar models from Garmin, and now it’s got a new entry-level model with the same feature. The 2200T is in fact the first “genuine entry-level GPS navigator” with free lifetime traffic, according to Navigon. It’s also got the same Reality View system with lane assistant as it’s more expensive sibling, with 3D-illustrated junctions to help you traverse complex intersections, a text-to-speech function, 3.5-inch touchscreen, SiRF GRF3i+ GPS chip with InstantFix II ability and an integrated traffic data antenna. It’ll cost you around US$229, but for that you’ll always know if there’s a jam up ahead. Press release below. More »
Gadgets
Smart Posters Use Cool Technology to Give You More Marketdrone Material
9:38PM Jesus Diaz | Always ahead of the curve, Japanese communication companies are deploying smart posters for a test drive in a Chiba shopping mall. The posters will use Near Field Communication technology to send information like images, music and movie clips to mobile phones over the air, all with no need to establish any kind of pairing. More »
Phones
